THE SPICE MAKER’S SECRET
BY RENITA D’SILVA
Published: 3rd January 2024
BOOKOUTURE
1939, India. Gently kissing her child, Bindu reaches into her pot of powder and touches her finger to the baby’s forehead. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her daughter into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her again…
Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Bindu is desperately lonely. Before her wedding, she was a highly sought-after cook and although she is not allowed into the kitchen in her new house, she can still taste chilli on her tongue and remember the feel of ground turmeric on her fingers. She finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes, hoping to pass them down to her unborn child. But when her jealous husband finds out, he confines Bindu to her room alone. As she goes into labour, Bindu is trapped and desperately afraid for her child’s life. Even a recipe cannot rescue her this time. Will she and her baby find a way to survive?
1990, London. Eve’s most treasured gift from her beloved adopted father was a hand-written Indian recipe book. Grieving his death, she begins to grind and mix the spices penned so carefully in the recipes. Do the crumbling pages hold the key to uncovering the secrets of her past?
Her father never spoke of her birth mother, finding it too painful to talk about his time in India. But now he’s gone, Eve is desperate to understand where she comes from. Will finding her birth family, lost for so long, help Eve to find her place in the world, or will it tear her apart?
It’s been a long while since I’ve read one of Renita’s books, and whilst not a genre that typically reach for, her writing is so heartwarming that I was delighted to read this new one. Bindu’s and Eve’s tales come from different places, and although there is tragedy in both, it’s told with delicacy. The depth of the author’s immersive writing ensures the sights and sounds of both women’s worlds burst into life from the pages.
I believe this is a book that most readers, of any genre, would enjoy.
*I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my unbiased review. Thanks to Bookouture, Renita D’Silva and NetGalley
5 / 5
Vibrant and richly descriptive; heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure